​TCU head coach Sonny Dykes argues a call in the first half of an NCAA college football game against Baylor, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Waco, Texas. (Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune-Herald via AP) (Rod Aydelotte/Associated Press)
On a soggy field Saturday in Ireland, just before halftime of the season’s first major college football game, a snapped ball sailed high over the TCU punter’s head. It wound up being kicked out the back of the end zone for a safety, and ESPN predictably showed multiple replays of this gaffe, from a variety of angles.At that moment, coach Sonny Dykes and his Horned Frogs showed remarkable restraint.Despite their established urges, they did not demand that ESPN pack up its cameras and leave the stadium.This, in light of how TCU had handled unflattering media coverage heading into the game, represented real growth. It also reminded us of one of the most enjoyable parts of college football, which returned in sloppy earnest Saturday with the Horned Frogs’ 15-10 loss to North Carolina at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium.No matter how much some coaches wish that it wouldn’t, the truth about everybody’s team always comes out this time of year.It was fitting, in a way, that the first two teams in the NCAA’s top subdivision to play this season were ones with well-documented recent difficulties in controlling their own narratives. Last week, TCU rescinded the credentials of the only publication with a staffer covering the program on a full-time basis. And last year, North Carolina memorably scrapped plans for a weekly Hulu documentary on head coach Bill Belichick once the Tar Heels figured out they were going to lose more games than they’d win.This is the way things tend to go in a sport where the harder coaches try to keep every detail of their program a state secret, the worse it tends to go for them. Years ago, I sat in a meeting with a first-year coach who warned reporters that he had investigators capable of sniffing out all potential leaks.
TCU safety Julius Simms, right, tackles North Carolina tight end Jelani Thurman during an NCAA college football game in Dublin, Ireland. Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison) (Peter Morrison/Associated Press)
A few days later, after he conducted a similar meeting with players’ families and warned them not to speak to the media, a local newspaper quoted an unnamed parent who described exactly what the coach said.That particular tenure didn’t end well. Most coaching tenures don’t, because if they were going well, they probably wouldn’t end. But it’s always fun to watch another round of multimillionaires learn the same lessons that their predecessors finally did. The grand, silly paradox of college football is that the whole sport is built upon generating attention, and the people who benefit most from that attention hate it. Programs need attention to pay coaches, and to fund rosters, and to build stadiums. They needed attention so badly, that they’re willing to send teams li